Theme trail · 9 stops
Thunder Gods
“When it thunders, every people has imagined someone up there.”
Thunder frightens everyone, and it brings the rain the fields need. That is why almost every people has placed a storm god in the sky, often the mightiest of all. He strikes with a thunderbolt, a hammer, an axe or a drum: the weapon changes, but the rumble is the same.
ZeusGreek mythologyThe king of Olympus holds the thunderbolt forged by the Cyclopes.
JupiterRoman mythologyThe Romans gave him another name and a temple on the Capitoline Hill.
ThorNorse mythologyIn the North, lightning comes from the blow of a hammer that always returns to the hand.
PerunSlavic mythologyThe Slavs imagined an axe chasing a serpent among the trees.
IndraThe Hindu traditionIn India the thunder god set the waters free by defeating a gigantic serpent.
Raijin and FūjinJapanese mythologyIn Japan thunder is the sound of a ring of drums.
ShangoAfrican traditionsIn West Africa thunder is the voice of an orisha who punishes liars.
TlalocAztec and Maya mythologiesThe Aztecs thought thunder was the noise of the rain jars breaking.
ChaacAztec and Maya mythologiesFor the Maya, a long-nosed god struck the clouds with a stone axe.
Next trail: Sea Monsters
Who's behind this
Ciro Simone Irmici
I build websites, apps and games. I built the Atlas with artificial intelligence and I check every card and every source myself. I am not a scholar of mythology: I tell these legends with respect and always say where they come from. If you know a legend from your town, write to me.
More of my work: free audiobooks on YouTube · ebooks on Gumroad · Apple Books · music on Spotify and YouTube Music